Alexanderson, H., Johnsen, T. & Murray, A. S. 2009: Re‐dating the Pilgrimstad Interstadial with OSL: a warmer climate and a smaller ice sheet during the Swedish Middle Weichselian (MIS 3)? Boreas , 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00130.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Pilgrimstad in central Sweden is an important locality for reconstructing environmental changes during the last glacial period (the Weichselian). Its central location has implications for the Scandinavian Ice Sheet as a whole. The site has been assigned an Early Weichselian age (marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 a/c; >74 ka), based on pollen stratigraphic correlations with type sections in continental Europe, but the few absolute dating attempts so far have given uncertain results. We re‐excavated the site and collected 10 samples for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating from mineral‐ and organic‐rich sediments within the new Pilgrimstad section. Single aliquots of quartz were analysed using a post‐IR blue single aliquot regenerative‐dose (SAR) protocol. Dose recovery tests were satisfactory and OSL ages are internally consistent. All, except one from an underlying unit that is older, lie in the range 52–36 ka, which places the interstadial sediments in the Middle Weichselian (MIS 3); this is compatible with existing radiocarbon ages, including two measured with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The mean of the OSL ages is 44±6 ka ( n =9). The OSL ages cannot be assigned to the Early Weichselian for all reasonable adjustments to water content estimates and other parameters. The new ages suggest that climate was relatively mild and that the Scandinavian Ice Sheet was absent or restricted to the mountains for at least parts of MIS 3. These results are supported by other recent studies completed in Fennoscandia.
Catastrophic out-bursts of water from lakes impounded by glacial ice or debris such as moraines have caused large freshwater floods on Earth in recent times at least back to the Quaternary. Resultant large-scale depositional sedimentary landforms are found along the courses of these floodwaters. On Mars, similar floods have resulted from catastrophic efflux of water from within the Martian crust. This latter conclusion is based on large-scale and mesoscale landforms that appear similar to those identified in flood tracts on Earth. Both on Earth and on Mars, these landforms include suites of giant bars – 'streamlined forms' – of varying morphology that occur primarily as longitudinal features within the floodways as well as in flooded areas that were sheltered from the main flow. Flow-transverse bedforms, notably giant fluvial dunes and antidunes also lie within the floodways. The flood hydraulics that created these forms may be deduced from their location and morphology. Some other fluvial landforms that have been associated with megafloods on Earth have yet to be identified on Mars.
We use cosmogenic exposure ages to determine the timing of deglaciation of the Scandinavian ice sheet (SIS) at summit elevation in the central Swedish mountains. Mean exposure ages for boulders on ...
Recent work suggests an emerging new paradigm for the Scandinavian ice sheet (SIS); one of a dynamically fluctuating ice sheet. This doctoral research project explicitly examines the history and dy ...
Abstract.Abstract.The overall pattern of deglaciation of the southern part of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet has been considered established, although details of the chronology and ice sheet dynamics are less well known. Even less is known for the south Swedish Upland because the area was deglaciated mostly by stagnation. Within this area lies the conspicuous Vimmerby moraine, for which we have used the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (10Be) exposure dating technique to derive the exposure age of six glacially transported boulders. The six 10Be cosmogenic ages are internally consistent, ranging from 14.9 ± 1.5 to 12.4 ± 1.3 ka with a mean of 13.6 ±0.9 ka. Adjusting for the effects of surface erosion, snow burial and glacio‐isostatic rebound causes the mean age to increase only by c. 6% to c. 14.4± 0.9 ka. The 10Be derived age for the Vimmerby moraine is in agreement with previous estimates forthe timing of deglaciation based on radiocarbon dating and varve chronology. This result shows promise for further terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide exposure studies in southern Sweden.Key words: terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (10Be) exposure datingdeglaciationScandinavian Ice SheetVimmerby moraineSwedensouth Swedish Upland
The site Pilgrimstad in central Sweden has often been cited as a key locality for discussions of ice-free/ice-covered intervals during the Early and Middle Weichselian. Multi-proxy investigations of a recently excavated section at Pilgrimstad now provide a revised picture of the climatic and environmental development between similar to 80 and 36 ka ago. The combination of sedimentology, geochemistry, OSL and 14C dating, and macrofossil, siliceous microfossil and chironomid analyses shows: (i) a lower succession of glaciofluvial/fluvial, lacustrine and glaciolacustrine sediments; (ii) an upper lacustrine sediment sequence; and (iii) Last Glacial Maximum till cover. Microfossils in the upper lacustrine sediments are initially characteristic for oligo- to mesotrophic lakes, and macrofossils indicate arctic/sub-arctic environments and mean July temperatures > 8 degrees C. These conditions were, however, followed by a return to a low-nutrient lake and a cold and dry climate. The sequence contains several hiatuses, as shown by the often sharp contacts between individual units, which suggests that ice-free intervals alternated with possible ice advances during certain parts of the Early and Middle Weichselian.
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